Demonic guards barked out orders as they chased a figure through the depths of Tartarus. The figure in question was none other than Tirek. His breath came in heavy burst as he continued to run from the demonic guards of Tartarus. He could see the gates that lead out of this hell off in the distance. He began grinning as he saw himself drawing closer and closer to freedom.
However, his hopes of escaping were quickly crushed as he saw a large squad of guards form ranks in front of the gates. “Damn it!” Tirek shouted as he ground to a halt on the bridge leading toward the gate. He began to turn back to perhaps find another route, but guards had already blocked him off.
He let out a frustrated growl as he looked around, trying to find another way off the bridge.
“Best to stay right where you are prisoner!” one of the guards yelled as they all began to march closer and closer.
“You won’t put me back in that cage!” Tirek yelled back as he continued to look for a way around the guards, finally realizing the one way out. He quickly turned and jumped off the side of the bridge. He let out a loud yell as he fell deeper into Tartarus, its shadowy depths swallowing him up within their darkness.
Tirek continued to fall deeper and deeper. His hopes and dreams of making it out of this place had fallen apart. I guess its better to fall into darkness then spend the rest of eternity locked in a cage, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and continued to fall.
Shortly after that, he felt himself stop as if some invisible force had caught him. He opened his eyes to find himself hovering in the darkness before he was gently placed on cold, hard stone. He looked around the darkness, confused as to why he had stopped falling.
Tirek shivered as a cold wind blew past him. “It would seem after all these years, I finally have a visitor,” a deep, distorted voice whispered.
Tirek jumped and began to search the darkness for the source of the voice. “Who’s there!” he shouted as he continued to search the darkness. “Show yourself coward!” Tirek demanded.
“Why would I hide?” the dark voice replied. Suddenly, the sound of many chains being dragged across stone echoed in the darkness. Tirek quickly turned toward the sound and stood, ready to fight whatever was lurking in the darkness.
“Where are you?” Terik growled.
“I’m right here,” the voice responded, much closer this time. Tirek could feel its breath as the unknown creature exhaled. He quickly jabbed at the darkness, but his fist struck nothing but air.
A faint chuckle echoed throughout the darkness. “That was rude,” the voice said as an unknown force pushed him down. He grunted slightly as he slammed into hard stone. “Now tell me, why is a weak little thing like you way down here?” the voice asked in a calm tone.
“I was trying to escape,” Tirek growled as he struggled to get up, but the unknown force still held him down. The voice laughed. It seemed amused by Tirek’s words.
“Well, either your sense of direction must be terrible, or you’re just a foolish idiot,” the voice replied. “You see the gateway out is up there, so why did you decide to jump down here?”
“The guards cut me off. It was either jump, or get locked in chains and thrown back in the cage,” Tirek replied.
The voice laughed again. “So you couldn’t take on a few guards, but you thought you could slip past cerberus?”
“Cerberus isn’t guarding the gate,” Tirek replied as he continued to struggle against what ever was holding him down. There was silence after the words had left his lips, but Tirek could still sense the presence of the unknown creature standing in the darkness.
After a few minutes, the voice finally responded. “What did you plan on doing if you had managed to escape?” it asked.
“I planned to take over and rule Equestria,” Tirek replied. Suddenly, the force that held him down vanished, allowing him to stand once more.
“That is a very big thing to claim,” the voice said as he felt it move closer, “and why would a little weakling like you think you could ever hope to rule Equestria?” the voice mocked.
“I am no weakling!” Terik yelled in anger, “I am the mighty Lord Tirek!” The voice gave another amused laugh.
“Alright lord Tirek, how would you like to make deal?” the voice replied.
“What could you possibly offer me?” Terik asked.
“If you could supply me with the means of breaking my chains, then I will get us both out of this wretched place.”
“And how would you do that?” Tirek replied as he rolled his eyes, “The last time I checked, the gate was up there and we are down here.”
“You leave that up to me. All you have to do is break my chains, and I shall get you out of here.”
“What would you ask I give in return?” asked Tirek.
“One day I will come to you and ask you for something and no matter what I request of you, you must do as I ask. Now, free me.”
Tirek looked around in the darkness, his eyes now adjusted to it, but he saw no sign of any chains. “How am I supposed to break a chain when I can’t even see them?”
“I actually need something from you to break them,” the voice replied
“What is it you nee-” Tirek was cut off as he felt something grip his throat. It felt like a hand, but instead of fingers, it had long sharp talons, each one cutting into his flesh.
“You may feel a bit of pain,” the voice said, its tone calm and collected. Suddenly, pain shot through Tirek’s body. He felt the feeling of his life being drained out of him. A faint blue light could be seen in the darkness, revealing the rib cage of whatever had been speaking to him. After a few more seconds, the light vanished and the creature released him. Tirek fell to the hard stone, gasping for breath as the pain he had felt faded away.
“This will have to do,” the voice said. Suddenly, the sound of chains being strained and broken could be heard echoing throughout the darkness. The unknown creature grunted as it broke chain after chain. Tirek looked curiously into the darkness when something grabbed him and lifted him up
“What are you doing?” Tirek yelled.
“There’s not enough time to climb up,” the voice replied. “Cerberus would surely return before we reached the top.”
“But that doesn’t explain why you-” Tirek froze mid-sentence when he realized what was about to happen. Before he could say another word, the creature flung him high into the air, sending him rocketing toward the bridge he had jumped from. Tirek soared a few feet above the structure before falling onto the bridge. He grunted as he started to stand up.
“How dare that thing toss me around like i’m some kind of toy,” said Tirek, a low growl escaping his lips. He looked around only to find that the demonic guards had already gathered and marched toward him, but before they could even get close to him, a dark, shadowy mist appeared from nowhere and washed over the bridge.
The Demonic guards began to scream as an unknown creature began to pick them up and toss them off the bridge, sending them falling into the darkness below.
“It would be best if we didn’t linger,” the voice said to Tirek as it lifted up the Centaur and burst open the gates of Tartarus.
There was a bright flash of light before Tirek found himself on the edge of the Everfree Forest. He stood up and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. “We made it,” Tirek chuckled. “I’m finally out!” he yelled. As he turned to look at Canterlot way off in the distance, a sinister grin formed on his face. “And this time, I shall bring Equestria to its knees.”
“I wish you luck on your endeavours,” the dark voice said.
Tirek flinched slightly. He had completely forgotten that the strange creature had also made it out. He turned around, only to find a thick dark cloud of mist that slowly seeped deeper into the forest.
“Come with me,” Tirek said as he took a few steps toward the mist, “When I regain my strength, there would be no force in Equestria that would dare defy us with our powers combined. We could both easily conquer this land!”
The dark mist seemed to shift as if something was moving within its depths. “No,” the voice replied.
“Why not?” Tirek asked.
“Because I’m finally free from my chains, and as great as your plan sounds, I predict that your freedom will not last long,” said the voice as it once again started to move deeper into the Everfree.
Tirek growled slightly at the creature’s last comment.
“But don’t worry,” the voice said, “If you manage to succeed in your plans and become ruler of these lands, I will not fight you for control as long as you do not disturb me.”
Tirek turned away from the mist and began to head towards Canterlot. “Then let us hope our paths never cross again,” Terik growled and continued walking toward the city off in the distance.
“Do not forget that one day I will come to collect my part of the deal,” the voice said.
The dark mist continued to move deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest. Animals and creatures of the Everfree would hide and go silent as the mist passed them by. It continued moving deeper and deeper into the forest before coming to a stop at the edge of a cliff that lead down to a large cavern. A faint, glowing light could be seen revealing the Tree of Harmony. The mist flowed off the cliff like a waterfall, ignoring the stairs nearby as it began to swarm around the tree.
“You will do nicely,” the voice said as energy began to flow from the tree, only to be swallowed up by the dark mist. The dark mist began to expand, and within its depths, a shadowy figure began to take shape, its body somewhere between mist and a solid mass.
The figure turned to leave, but stopped after noticing what seemed like a chest with six key holes. “What do we have here?” it said as it dragged a sharp talon across its surface. The dark mist gathered around the chest and began to seep into the key holes. A faint chuckle could be heard as the last of the mist seeped into the chest.
A few days passed as Tirek quickly regained his power, his plan to rule Equestria nearly complete. His only fault was underestimating six little ponies, and this brought forth his downfall.
Equestria rejoiced as the news of the defeat of Lord Tirek spread throughout the lands, but has evil truly been vanquished, or is there something far more sinister on its way?
Twilight sat on the balcony of her new castle and watched as her friends returned to their own homes, each of them calling out a farewell. “Are we still on for racing tomorrow?!” Rainbow Dash called out.
“Wouldn’t miss it!” Twilight called back as she turned to walk back into her castle.
It had been two weeks since the defeat of Tirek. Things had pretty much gone back to the way they were before. Equestria was peaceful again, though it would take awhile to repair the damage Tirek had done.
Twilight hummed to herself quietly as she walked down the corridor leading toward her bedroom. The castle had grown dark as the day was reaching its end. Small crystals that lined the wall began to give off a faint glow, illuminating the dark corridor.
Twilight stopped outside of a large door that lead to her bedroom. She yawned slightly as she opened the door with her magic and quickly walked in. As soon as she entered the room, candles that were placed around the room instantly lit themselves, giving off a warm light.
Twilight had grown used to the self-lighting candles in the time she had spent here, but she admitted that they did startle her the first time she had walked in the room.
She quietly walked across the room, trying not to disturb Spike who was currently sleeping on a large, overstuffed chair that sat in the corner. She quickly, but quietly, made her way to the door that lead to her own bathroom. She eased open the door and slipped into the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind her.
More candles sprang to life, lighting up the large bathroom. Twilight walked over to the large bathtub and began to run a warm bath. She grabbed a bottle of bubble bath and poured it into the water and waited for the tub to fill before turning off the water and slipping into the warm bath.
Twilight closed her eyes and continued to enjoy the relaxing bath.
“Hello~”
Twilight yelped and quickly sat up, her eyes scanning the room to see if anyone had entered the room. “Spike, is that you?”
There was no reply, only silence.
Twilight remained still and continued to listen. She could hear the faint sound of Spike snoring in the next room. She shrugged and slowly sank back into her bath. “I was probably hearing things,” Twilight said, trying to reassure herself that nothing was there.
Twilight finished her bath and drained the water out of the tub before drying off. She tossed her now damp towel into the hamper and started to leave the room but stopped in front of the large mirror that hung above the sink.
She stood there, staring at her own reflection. A chill ran down her spine. She didn’t know why, but she had the strangest feeling that something was staring right back at her. She leaned closer to the mirror, her eyes scanning over its surface. For a split second, it seemed like something had moved behind her.
Unsure of her eyesight, she turned around to look behind her, but she saw nothing. She let out a sigh as she turned to leave the bathroom. “Come on get a grip Twilight. You probably had too much cider at dinner.” She shook her head slightly and walked out of the bathroom, the candles slowly going out as she left.
Twilight calmly crossed the room and climbed onto her bed. The candles that hung on the walls slowly began to go out as Twilight slid under her covers. The room was left in darkness as the candles extinguished. The pale light of the moon shown through the window, illuminating a small portion of the room.
Twilight felt her eyelids grow heavy as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
“Twilight!”
Twilight’s eyes shot open and she quickly sat up in her bed. “What the?” She looked around, confused. She was still in her room, but it looked different. It seemed much darker. The unicorn’s horn began to give off a warm glow as she climbed out of bed. She yelped when she felt cold water touch her hooves. She glanced down to find that the floor was covered in a thin layer of water.
“What’s going on?!”
“Twilight~” A faint whisper could be heard echoing through the room.
“Hello, is someone there?”
“Twilight”
This time the whisper was a bit louder and seemed to be coming from outside her bedroom. Twilight gulped and slowly began to walk toward her bedroom door, the sound of her hooves splashing in the water echoing off the smooth, stone walls. She stopped in front of the door. Water was seeping out from under it.
“Twilight!” The voice was louder this time and seemed to be more demanding.
“Who’s there!?”
“Open the door….Twilight open the door….let me in”
“I don’t think I should,” Twilight replied. She was frightened and knew deep down that opening the door would not lead to anything good.
“Open the door!”
“No!”
Twilight yelped as something began to slam into the door.
“Let me in!!”
“NO!!” Twilight backed away and quickly slid her desk in front of the door before sitting down in the flooded room. She didn’t know why, but she was absolutely terrified. A dark feeling of dread had taken over her, sending her to the point of tears.
More voices began to echo around her, each one dark and distorted, demanding to be let in.
“Go away and leave me alone!!” Tears began to stream down Twilight’s face as she held her head in her hooves “What’s happening?” she repeatedly thought, “This doesn’t make any sense!”
Twilight looked back to the door which now had large crack forming. “WHO ARE YOU!!!”
*Smack!!*
Twilight winced in pain as she opened her eyes. The sound of birds chirping could be heard outside the window. Twilight looked around the room, confused. It was daytime and there was no water in the floor.
“Are you okay?” A familiar voice called.
“S-Spike?” Twilight looked up to see the purple dragon staring back at her.
“Yes, it’s me.”
Twilight rubbed her now aching cheek. “W-what happened?”
“I was about to ask you the same question,” Spike replied.
“I woke up and you were over here squirming around and crying,” Spike said with a worried look.
“It was all a dream…… just a bad dream...” Twilight sighed.
“What was the dream about?” Spike asked curiously.
“It was nothing, just a nightmare,” Twilight replied as she climbed out of bed. “Why don’t you go get breakfast started?” Twilight said, her voice a tad bit shaky.
“You sure you’re okay?” Spike asked, a worried look in his eyes.
“I’m fine.” A sheepish smile spread across Twilight’s face “Now go get breakfast started,” she said as she nudged him across the room and out the door.
Twilight sighed as she once again crossed the room and entered the bathroom. The candles sprung to life as she entered the room, giving off a warm glow. Twilight stood in front of the sink and began to fill it with cold water. She dipped her hooves into the cold liquid and closed her eyes as she splashed it on her face. She smiled as the cool water left her feeling a bit refreshed.
Twilight opened her eyes only to freeze from shock as she looked into the mirror that hung above the sink. The light given off from the candles began to dim and the room grew darker. Twilight didn’t know why, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the reflective surface.
Suddenly, her reflection closed its eyes and smiled. Twilight flinched away from the mirror as the reflection continued to smile. Twilight raised an eyebrow as she began to inspect the mirror.
“How is this possible?” Twilight leaned closer. Her reflection opened its eyes and continued to smile warmly as it raised its hoof and placed it against the glass before its hoof moved out of the surface of the mirror. Twilight yelped and jumped back as the reflection continued to reach out of the mirror.
“This isn’t possible… it shouldn’t be possible!” Twilight stuttered as her reflection began to climb out of the mirror and reach for her, the warm smile still spread across its face.
“Come with me,” the reflection said as it held held its hoof out for Twilight to take.
“W-what are you?” Twilight asked as she began to tremble, her heart rate growing rapidly. “How are you doing that?”
The reflection kept smiling and holding out its hoof. “I’m you silly. There is no need to be afraid of yourself.”
Twilight slowly stepped toward her clone, a curious look on her face. “Where did you even come from?”
The clone laughed softly and waved its hoof slightly. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
Twilight remained still for a few seconds before slowly reaching for her reflection’s hoof.
“That’s it, don’t be afraid.”
Twilight was now only a few inches away from the reflection. Slowly, she raised her hoof and began to reach out to the reflection.
“That’s it, take my hoof. I have so much to show you.”
“Don’t do It!!” a loud voice suddenly shouted from nowhere.
A gray hoof shot out of the mirror and wrapped around the clone’s neck.
Twilight yelped and fell to the floor.
“Nooo!!” The reflection cried out as the gray hoof dragged it back into the mirror.
The candles in the room grew bright again, ridding the room of shadows. Twilight continued to lay on the floor as she stared at the mirror in confusion. “What the buck just happened?”
Twilight slowly stood up and looked into the mirror. Her reflection had the same confused look on its face as she did. Twilight slowly moved her head to the left and her reflection mimicked the movement. She stuck out her tongue and the reflection followed suit.
Twilight performed a few more test to make sure that the mirror didn’t have more surprises for her before walking out of the bathroom. She made it through her bedroom as well before quickly heading down towards the dining room.
“Spike!!” Twilight called out as she continued to make her way toward the dining room. “Something weird is going on and I think I’m going crazy!!”
